Ironing-machine.



F. T. JOHNSON.

IRONING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I6, 1917.

Patented June 2-3, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

F. T. JOHNSON.

IRONING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I6, l9l2.

Patented J une 25, 1918.

F. T. JOHNSON.

momma MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16. I917. 1,270,297. Patented June 25, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- A 3 25 265,? Inteni'm" fianczfi fcfoknsow. I

FRANCIST. JOHNSON, O13 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS IBONING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Xate'nted June 25., till 8.

Application filed June 16, 1917. Serial No. 175.077.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, FRANCIS T. Jon'Nson', a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in lroning-hflachines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in ironing machines or mangles. It has for one object to provide a new and improved form of ironing machine or mangle wherein the ironing or guiding rollers may be easily and conveniently moved toward and from the heating roller. Another object is to provide a new and improved structure whereby the article being ironed may be held upon the roller and exposed to the ironing pressure for a maximum period. Another object is to provide means whereby a relatively large number of small rollers may be employed to hold the work against the ironing roller and whereby the number may be varied depending upon the amount of work being done, the size of the ironing roller and the general purposes of the machine. Other objects will appear from time to time in the specification.

My invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically 1n the accompanying drawings wherein-- Figure 1 is an end elevation with parts in section:

Fig. 2 is a detail of the end elevation with parts omitted showing the rollers in a different osition:

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the rollers Fig. 4: is a section along the line t-i of iike parts are indicated by like letters in all the figurdft.

The ironing machine has a supporting and foundation frame at either end. These frames are identical and the support and connection of the different parts and their mounting in the frame is identical so that it will be su'liicient to describe only one end of the machine although in Fig. 3 I have illustrated both ends.

A is anend frame provided with the usual supporting legs A A held together at their bottom by the cross pieces A A A are hearings on the frame A in which is rotatably mounted a shaft A* driven by means of a belt wheel A and belt A from any suitable source of power. Intermediate the ends of this shaft and between the bearings A A. is a worm A? in mesh with a worm gear A keyed to a driving shaft A. ()ntho inner end of this shaft A. is a driving pinion A p B is a bearing mounted in the frame A. Rotatahly mounted thereon is a lmllow sleeve 13 which. extends inwardl i and car-- ries a perforated drum l Mounted on this drum is a hollow ironing roll 15. The perforations B" inthe drum are provided so that air may euter'tho drum to permit eom-- bustion of the 5 whielr is fed ihereinto through the gas pipe Pr. T'n' gas pipe. is: provided with burner holes I) mside of the drum so that the gas may be lighted and the ironingrolier be heated thereby. This iron-- ing roller a perfectly smooth, hard cylindrical iron roller with a smooth, clean surface across which i'naterial to be ironed may be fed. B is a tap surrounding the outer end of the bearing B and substantially closing the sleeve B being perforated just large enough to permit the pipe 13" to pass in. i3 is a gear mounted on the hollow shaft or sleeve B in mesh with a pinion A. so that the ironing roller may be lrivcn from the power sources as iinlieated. B" is a. working platform supported on the arms 3 from the frame A and tcrminmring adjacent the working face of the ironing roller in a thin overhanging metallic lip B pro ided for the purpose of guiding the man-rial iiom the working platform over on tothe ironing roller.

Grouped about the ironing roller are a series of smaller separate holding or glg'llltlll'lg rollers. I have show u two but there n .y be more or less as the case may be, my arrangement being such that the number is not limited, the operation being the same in every case. These rollers are identical, their mourning and supporting arrangements are identical and the description of one wil su'ilice for all.

'. C, C are lugs extendingoutwardly an equal distance from the frame A. G are hangers pivoted at C 'on th These hangers contain hearing so: which blocks C are slidahly mounted. These blocks form bearings for the shafts C" upon which the guiding rollers L?" are mounted. Sprin s (1 are interposed be- 'tween these blocks and adjustable thumbscrews C whereby the blocks are yieldingly thrust inward.

Each hanger is lniureated as a: I)

, {bifurcation straddling the stop member D projecting from the bearing B. D is a roller adapted to contact with this stop ator may rotate the cam to raise and lower the hangers and thrust the guiding and holding rollers in or throw them out of c0n-.

tact, with the ironing roller.

The guiding rollers C are coveredwith. --a number of layers of fabric or cloth, E,

which may be put on separately or wound round and round as the case may be. At

any rate they provide a soft and more .or less yielding covering for the guide rollers, which coveringinay be removed or may be decreased in thickness or other thickness added to at thewill of the operator and de pending upon the circumstances of the case. Rigidly attached to the shaft C area series of gears E in mesh" with the gear B so that the guiding rollers are positively driven by the gear which drivesthe ironing roller.

' I have shown the relation between the gears E and B such that the peripheral speeds of the guiding and the ironing rollers will be about the same, though a change in the diameter of the guiding roller 0 by the addition or subtraction of layers of the covering material. would slightly disturb this situation. a

It will be evident that while I have shown in my drawings an operative device, still many changes might be made both in size, shape, and arrangement of parts, without departing materially from the spirit of my invention, and I Wish, therefore, that my drawings be regarded as in a sense diagrammatic.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows: I The operator first lights the-gas in the head ironing roller. He then places the work which is to be ironed upon the ironing or supporting table, and spreads it out or folds it carefully. He then starts the motor which drives or rotates the ironing roller, after that roller has been sufficiently heated. He lays his work npon this roller, and then by manipulating the handle, rotates' the cam plate so as to draw the guiding and compressing rollers down against the work and against the ironing roller. These guiding and compressing rollers are driven as indicated in-unison with the ironing roller at such a rate of speed that their peripheral velocities are substantially the same, although of course no harm would be done by a slight difference in velocity, because the ironing roller being smooth would merely slip over the work while the work being engaged by the fabric or cloth covering on the guiding roller,would be propelled by the guiding rollers and controlled in speed by them.

a The work passes around theironing rollerfor a greater or less distance depending upon'the number of guiding rollers in place. It might be possible to carry the work back almost all the way around the ironing roller.

- Ordinarily this is not done, however, and

the Work is dropped down after passing underthe two rollers which I have shown.

If, for any purpose, the operator wishes i to release the work while it is partly through the. machine, he needs only to manipulate the handle to raise all the guiding rollers out of contact with the ironing roller, and when the pressure is released, there is obviously covering the surface as indicated This 1 may mat or pack down or it may be changed by the operator. In any event it becomes necessary to provide a yielding pressure whereby any differences in diameters or any diflerence in the thickness of the work may be, compensated for.

vAttention is called to the fact thatthe cam slot at both ends are normal tothe plane of movement of the roller for a sufiicient distance to insure that there willibe no tendency toward a release of thecam. In other words, it is so arranged that when the roli rs are in the inoperative position they stay there, and when-they are in the working position they also stay there; thus no separate means are needed for holding the rollers in to the'work, or for holding them away from the work.

In view of the fact that the supporting means for each of the guiding rollers is separate from the other, it is clear that, by changing the number of slots in the cam plates, it would be possible to have a larger or a smaller number of guiding rollers. Each of these guiding rollers would in this case opcrate sepmately a n d be separately moved toward. aiid fgom" the ironing roller by the movement of the cam plate, and thus the size of the rollers might be changed so as to havealarge number grouped around the ironing plate, or a small number as the case may be, and because these rollers are all moved along radial lines toward and from the ironing roller, they do not take up any room more than the room needed for the roller itself, and do not interfere with the operation of one another.

I claim An ironing machine comprising an ironroller consisting of a rotatame motion cam movement of the roller such portions serving to lock the guiding roller in place in either the operative or the inoperative position.

In testimony whereof, I al'iix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses this 28th day of May, 1917.

FRANCIS T. JOHNSON. l/Vitnesses:

v MINNIE M. LINnENAU,

MARION L. INQRAILAM. 

